1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless network system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for establishing a path in a wireless network.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional art, wired network systems are commonly used. Currently, home wireless networks and wireless networks covering wide areas are generally used due to various advantages and conveniences.
Specifically, as an example of such wireless networks, ad hoc networks are used. Such ad hoc networks refer to infrastructure-less networks and are autonomously comprised of nodes. Also, such ad hoc networks do not require network infrastructure devices such as base stations or access points for network configuration and maintenance. Also, nodes of ad hoc networks communicate with each other via wireless interfaces, and may freely move. Also, limits of communication distances of wireless interfaces may be overcome by multi-hop routing functions.
Also, in wireless networks such as ad hoc networks, source nodes transmit particular data via all nodes in wireless network environments by using a flooding method when discovering a path between a source and a destination according to routing protocols. The flooding method may refer to a communication method which transmits a single packet received from a random node to other all nodes accessed to routers.
However, position based routing methods and apparatuses in the conventional art have following disadvantages.
Position based routing methods and apparatuses in the conventional art randomly transmit data to almost all nodes during a route discovery procedure, which causes a decrease of packet transmission efficiency. Specifically, as an example, when a source node is very far away from a destination node, the possibility that a flooding may occur in the entire wireless networks is high. Also, when a density is high, severe route overhead may occur. Further, when a direction between a destination node and a source node is straight, request zones where a flooding may not occur are set, and thus a routing itself may not be performed.
Position based routing methods and apparatuses in the conventional art may not use nodes having no location information for communications in wireless network environments. Particularly, when a great number of nodes without location information exist, communications are unstable and efficiency may be deteriorated.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for establishing a path in a wireless network that overcome these disadvantages.